


S2 E19 The Black Vera Wang

by JDPostEpisodeChallenge, kcat1971



Series: Josh & Donna Post Episode Challenge [24]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-28 00:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16230527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDPostEpisodeChallenge/pseuds/JDPostEpisodeChallenge, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcat1971/pseuds/kcat1971
Summary: The one where they said what they meant.  (And everyone knew it.)





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Dialogue from the Show appears in italics and script format. No infringement intended.

_S2 E The Black Vera Wang_

_FADE IN: INT. HALLWAY - DAY Donna is walking through the hallway. Josh catches up with her._

_JOSH Good morning._

_DONNA My man!_

_JOSH Yes._

_DONNA You came back to me._

_JOSH Just like I promised._

_DONNA I missed you._

_JOSH When did you find you missed me the most?_

_DONNA The nights._

_JOSH Of course._

_DONNA Did you bring me anything?_

_JOSH I did._

_DONNA Where is it?_

_JOSH It should be in my office._

_Donna sees a big crate sitting in JOSH'S OFFICE._

_DONNA Wow!_

_JOSH Open it._

_DONNA I'm just happy it's not moose. What is it?_

_JOSH Moose. It's sauna-soaked moose meat. Nicely packaged in a burnt pine box. The hinges are made from hand-woven Lapland ribbons._

_DONNA I missed you so much._

_JOSH Where am I supposed to be right now?_

_DONNA The basement, office C. Josh leaves. Donna looks confused, staring at the box._

Well. That was certainly a disappointing reunion. She really did desperately miss him the last four nights. Especially, the three she spent at her parent's condo in Wisconsin. By the time she got back to her apartment last night, she'd been exhausted. She had sort of hoped he'd stop by, but truthfully, she's not 100% positive that she would have woke up if he had.

Sure, it had been nice seeing family. Her niece is getting so big, and she was so excited to see Aunt Donna at her ballet recital. And then to watch the boys play soccer was really fun. But it would have been better if Josh had been there. They even went to a ballgame on Sunday as a family. Josh would have liked that. It would have been a great way for him to bond with her Dad.

For a few moments last week it had looked like the Helsinki summit would get canceled, then maybe, just maybe he'd have joined her. If he had, she would have told her parents that their relationship had changed about 6 months ago. It seems weird that all the Senior Staff, Leo, and the President of the United States know that they are dating, but her parents don't.

When he greeted her this morning, she had wanted to throw herself at him and kiss him senseless, but absolutely NO public displays of affection was one of Leo's hard and fast rules. He had agreed to let them continue to work together as long as it didn't become an issue with either of their performance, AND as long as they didn't make any scenes or cause any more gossip than they had been for the last three years.

So instead of touching, they had bantered. Sure, they pushed the limits a little, if any reporters or other assistants had heard them it could have caused some extra gossip, but really as long as they kept it to banter, they are pretty safe that no one would really think anything of it.

. . . . . .

When Josh returns to his office, Donna's not at her desk. His heart thuds painfully. He really wanted to just grab her and kiss the daylights out of her this morning, but he really doesn't want to cause a scene. Leo told him that if he breaks one of the rules he's going to whack him with a two-by-four. Donna knows most of the rules: no pda, keep doing a good job, be discreet. But she doesn't know the biggest rule: Don't break Donna's heart. He's been reminded several times that both Leo and the President are very fond of Donna and both the 82nd Airborne AND the IRS work for them. Plus his Mom told him that if he makes her choose between them, she's choosing Donna. He told her that he understands. He'd choose Donna too.

When he's done staring wistfully at her desk, he heads into his own office. The Sauna-Cured Moose meat is gone. Well, that gift went over like a lead balloon. What did she think he was going to bring her? She knows they don't really have time to shop when they're working. She's lucky that he got a fairly expensive gift from the Finnish Office of Protocol. Sam had to pick up tacky gifts from the hotel gift shop for Kathy and Ginger. Besides, even if he did pick up a really nice iittala glass vase from the hotel gift shop and have it carefully packaged and wrapped, he couldn't exactly bring it to the office, could he? So he'd left it at home sitting in the middle of the table, waiting for her to come over after work. She didn't really think the moose meat was her gift, did she?

He sits down at his desk and tries to focus. He really does. Leo's rule number 2- keep doing a good job. But he's having a hard time concentrating. He really needs to be with her. He wanted to bring her on the trip, but no one was taking assistants and she certainly couldn't come along as his girlfriend. He knew she was disappointed, so he had encouraged her go to Wisconsin for the weekend. He even insisted that she leave on Thursday so that she'd have a little extra time with her family. It's the least he could do, since he's been monopolizing what little free time for more than four years, now.

He'd restrained himself from going over there last night. By the time they'd finished up in the office it had been late. And she'd had a late flight and needed her rest. He's actually really proud of himself for how considerate he was.

But tonight, he's got big plans. They have four nights to make up for, and he's got something he needs to ask her. He's not sure how to bring it up. Should he just slip it into casual conversation or make a big show of it? He hopes she'll say yes, but he's not 100% sure. What if she thinks they aren't ready? They've only been dating for 6 months, even though it seems like it's been a lot longer.

. . . . .

Donna is sitting at her desk, working on the Helsinki Summit Report. Josh's notes leave a lot to be desired but she usually understands how his mind works, connecting the dots between the two or three word phrases that are connected by arrows, and placed into boxes, and underlined three or four times. She smiles to herself at his doodles in the margin. JL + DM with a heart around it. He knew she'd see this when she typed the report. Then a couple pages later, Do you like me? With boxes for choosing yes or no. What is this, fifth grade? She picks up a red pen and puts a big X in the yes box. Then she grins back at his reflection in the screen of her computer monitor.

"It was kind of hard to concentrate over there. I really missed you." His voice is soft so no one else in the bullpen can hear. But she has no trouble. She's attuned to him.

"I really missed you too. I wish I could have taken you home to meet my parents."

"I've met your parents."

"You know what I mean! When they met you before, you were a rising star in the Party and my boss. I wanted to introduce you as my boyfriend."

"Do you think they'll like me as your boyfriend?"

"Well, they love you as the Democratic Party's current wunderkind, I don't see any reason they won't love you as my boyfriend."

"Come on. Let's go."

"To my parents?" She feigns confusion, and he laughs.

"No really, Josh, where?"

"My apartment. We can grab some take out on the way."

"Were leaving now? It's just past 8 o'clock."

"Yeah, but it feels like 1am Helsinki time." He looks around and lowers his voice again. "And I can't stand any longer. I need to touch you."

. . . . .

She didn't really need much convincing. She'd just said "Chinese? The usual?" And when he'd agreed, she'd picked up the phone and placed the call. The food would be ready by the time they arrived to pick it up. Life was just easier with Donna around.

For a long time, he'd chalked up all his feelings to that notion. Of course, he was happier in her presence. Life was just easier when she was around. Of course, he got more done. Life was just easier when she was around. Of course he was more motivated. Of course, he'd do anything for her. Of course, he didn't want to spend a minute apart.

But then, he'd been shot. And life wasn't easier even though Donna was around. In fact, she was tough on him. Imposing rules. Making him do his breathing. Watching him struggle to even make it to the bathroom under his own power. Waking up in a cold sweat, because he'd had another dream where instead of him being shot it was her. And thanking a god he wasn't sure that he believed in that it was him. Listening to her softly weeping in the other room, in between her own prayers of thanksgiving, and supplications for his recovery.

No, it hadn't been easy but that's when he realized how much he loved her. Not as a friend. Not because she made his life easier. He just loved her. And he sort of suspected she might love him too. Because there is no way an employee or a friend would ever have put up with him for those long three months unless there was something more to it. He'd wanted to tell her how he felt, but he didn't want to do it while he was an invalid. He didn't want her to pretend something was there just because she felt sorry for him. So he'd waited until he was whole. Waited until she moved back into her place. And then one rare Saturday, when he'd given her the day off, he showed up at her apartment in the morning with coffee and flowers. When she opened the door and looked happy to see him, even though it had only been 8 hours, and even though it was her day off, he knew it was safe to tell her how he felt.

He'll never forget the feeling of her telling him that of course she loved him too. Silly man. Of course she likes her job, but did he really think she stayed late every night for the work? It was him. She stayed late for him.

The only flaw in how he'd handled it was letting her move out of his place. But he plans to remedy that tonight.

. . . . .

Josh was pretty quiet on the way home. He must be more tired than she realized. He even let her drive. He's just been sitting in the passenger seat of his car, staring at her with a slight smile on his face.

Every few seconds she looks over at him and smiles. Life just feels so good right now. Josh has been killing it at work. Not only his normal domestic policy stuff, but foreign affairs too. He was the one urging Leo and the President to recognize that the heavy water reactor construction in Bushehr could have been rogue agents. He was the one discouraging them from abandoning the Helsinki summit. Sam's message wouldn't have been nearly as well received if Josh hadn't been paving the way. She's so proud of him.

"We're here." She informs him unnecessarily as she pulls into his spot. He grins at her mischievously and she immediately suspects something is up. He's like a little kid sometimes. When he has something good to share it's like his whole body vibrates and he can hardly contain himself. She wonders for a moment what he was like as a child. It isn't the first time she's had the image of a little version of Josh in her head.

. . . . .

As he helps her off with her coat, she spots the gift on the table. She turns back at him and raises one eyebrow. "For me?"

"Yes."

"But you got me moose meat."

"No, I gave my assistant moose meat. I got my girlfriend something else."

"You had time to shop?"

"The hotel had a nice boutique. Go on, open it!"

She picks the gift up. She carefully unties the ribbon and takes the paper off. Inside is a white box, "iittala" is embossed on the side. When she pulls the lid off, she discovers a glass vase fitted into a foam center. It's simple. Just a clear, tall rectangle. But as she pulls it out of it's container she can feel how heavy it is. Obviously, it's high quality.

"Finland is known for its glassware. This company goes back to 1881, and it's made to last. A lot of pieces end up becoming family heirlooms." He's rambling a bit then he cuts himself off. "I just thought you might like it for when I bring you flowers."

"I love it. Thanks for thinking of me."

"I was thinking of you the whole time. In fact, I . . ." He looks serious for a moment. But then he pauses, and suddenly shifts gears. "How about you? We're you thinking of me? Did you bring me anything from Wisconsin?"

"I might have thought of you once or twice. Maybe I brought you something." She teases him playfully.

"Did you bring me cheese?"

"Josh! You know that's not the only thing they make there. And it's not like there are specialty cheese shops on every corner in Madison."

"So, did you?"

"I think I have some Kraft singles in my fridge at home."

"Donna."

"Okay, yes! I brought you some of that Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar you like from that place."

"Where is it?"

"It's in my fridge at home."

"I think you should bring it here. And while you're at it I think you should clean out your fridge, and bring the rest of your stuff too. And you know, keep it all here. And have this be home."

"Josh, are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yes? I mean, yes. Yes, I am. I love you. I don't want to be apart from you for a moment longer than necessary. I want to travel together, and when we can't I want to come home to you, or have you come home to me. And I want that to be the same home. I just want home to be where you are."

Her face lights up. "Oh JOSH!" She sets the vase down on the table and flings herself into his arms. "Of course I'll move in with you."

. . . . . .

"That was . . . nice." Josh offers as they are laying in bed much, much later.

She gives him a look. He's way underestimating himself if he thinks that was just nice. On the other hand, if that way just nice, maybe he's got some more tricks up his sleeve.

"You know, sometimes I really doubt that 760 SAT word score you like to brag about." She bumps him with her shoulder.

He rolls over on top of her grinning. "Well, you know, they say actions speak louder than words. I guess I'll have to show you what I mean . . . again."

He captures her mouth in a passionate kiss, and all her words disappear too.

. . . . .

"That was awesome. Incredible. Earth-shattering."

"That's better." She grins at him.

He loves her like this. All confident and a mouth full of wiseass. It's not that he didn't adore her from the day he met her, but she really has grown from uncertain young woman into a self-assured, powerful presence. She may not wield her power in obvious in your face ways, but anyone who doesn't realize that she has it, is liable to get blind-sided. He knows from experience. He also knows he can't keep her as just his assistant for much longer. She's earned a promotion and he needs to get someone to take the stupid stuff off her plate so she can do even more of the important stuff. But that's a discussion for business hours.

"Hey. Do you think the Chinese is still good?" It's been sitting in the containers on the counter for a couple hours. Maybe they should just order some pizza.

"I'm sure it's cold, but it should be fine. We can just nuke it."

"Are you sure? I don't want either of us to get sick."

"Josh. It's fine."

"Do you want to eat it in bed, while watching TV?"

"Ew. No. We can eat it on the couch watching TV."

"Okay." He flings the covers off and gets out of bed and throws his boxers and t-shirt on. Then he walks over to his dresser and grabs a clean pair for her. He pulls open another drawer and pulls out a soft grey t-shirt. "Here. I'll go start heating up the food while you do your girly stuff."

She climbs out of bed and heads toward the bathroom. He stops and stares as she leaves the room. "Are you sure you're hungry?"

"God, Josh. Yes. I'm hungry." She rolls her eyes then shuts the bathroom door.

. . . .

"I love it when you wear my clothes." He says softy, with a little more seriousness than she's used to, and suddenly she remembers that they've just entered a whole new stage of their relationship.

She gives him a quick peck on the lips then picks up a container and a pair of chop sticks. This domestic stuff just feels right. "How'd you end up with a Wesleyan shirt anyway? Do you know somebody who went there?"

"No. They probably gave it to me for speaking to a class or something. I end up with a lot of free t-shirts and coffee mugs."

"Speaking of t-shirts and coffee mugs. What should I bring over here? There's not really room for another dresser in your room and your cupboards are already full of dishes you hardly use."

"First of all, I'll clean out one of the dressers in OUR bedroom. I can move half of my stuff into the guest room. Or if you'd rather have your own dresser I'll just move one of mine out."

"My dresser is crap. I'd rather use one of yours."

"Okay. As far as kitchen stuff, it's up to you. You can bring yours over here if you want, and I can get rid of mine."

"I don't know. Maybe it's not a good idea to get rid of it. What if . . . ."

She doesn't finish, not wanting to say it out loud. But she's lived with someone before. She knows what it's like to have to start over with nothing. She hopes that it'll work out with Josh, but it's not like he proposed. What happens if he gets tired of her?

"Hey." Josh is looking at her intently, he can see the doubt flickering across her face. "I love you. As far as I'm concerned, this is just step one. I'm planning on this being forever. Someday, I'm going to be bringing you flowers for our 50th anniversary and you're going to be putting them in that vase over there."

She smiles at the thought.

"I know you've been burned before. I'm not that guy. But I don't want you to feel like you are taking all the risk. Why don't you sublease your apartment fully furnished. That way you'll still have all your furniture and time to adjust. But I swear, I'm going to make it my goal in life to make sure you never want to leave me."

She instantly feels so much better. She doesn't have any doubts that she wants Josh forever. But having him understand, and for him to want to make sure she feels secure. Well, yeah, he really is better than her old boyfriend.


	2. Tuesday

_CUT TO: INT. LOBBY - DAY Josh enters and walks toward the door to his BULLPEN AREA._

_MARTHA Josh!_

_JOSH Hey Martha._

_MARTHA I'm sorry to bother you; I know you have like a million other things to do._

_JOSH It's no problem._

_MARTHA We have a record of your receiving a gift from the Finish office of protocol, some sauna-cured meat._

_JOSH Moose meat._

_MARTHA Yeah, it showed up on ebay._

_JOSH What're you talking about?_

_MARTHA Well you know that's a no-no right?_

_JOSH I- yeah, I gave it to- [pause]_

_MARTHA Who?_

_JOSH Nobody. Sorry, Martha, I'll, I'll take care of it._

_MARTHA Thank you. You can get back to your real job._

Crap. The morning had been going so well. Donna had taken his car back to her place to get ready for work and he'd had a nice walk into the office thinking about how great it was going to be once they were living together. And now, he's going to have to reprimand her? She knows better than this. It's completely unlike her. And the timing couldn't be worse.

He's running a bit late, so he doesn't even bother to take his coat off or drop his backpack in his office. Instead he heads straight to the communications bullpen. Once he's there, he stops outside the doorway, just out of sight and listens. He can't help but smile to himself at how Donna is handling this meeting.

_CUT TO: INT. COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE - DAY Margaret and Donna are presiding over a meeting of White House assistants._

_MARGARET The Washington Times tomorrow is printing their annual list of assistant salaries._

_MALE ASSISTANT Where do they get the information?_

_DONNA The White House has to submit it to a postal and treasury subcommittee and it traditionally gets leaked by the opposition party._

_MARGARET And a lot of us were thinking that instead of giving the press a reason to write a story we'd hold off on the bitching about how little we're paid for like a month so that we can deal with it the way it should be dealt with, which is with our bosses. Everyone claps._

_DONNA Okay, so no matter what it says tomorrow, it's a privilege to serve our country. Try not to everybody use those exact words._

_FEMALE ASSISTANT I wasn't here last year, the press really cares what the assistants have to say? DONNA We're not assistants in this kind of story we're White House staffers or prominent Democrats with close ties to the President._

_FEMALE ASSISTANT Got it._

_MARGARET Thank you._

She and Margaret did a really nice job running that meeting. He's really proud of her. He just wishes he didn't have to deal with the moose meat issue. He knew she wouldn't eat it, but he never imagined she'd try to sell it. Is she really that hard up for money? He's working on getting her that raise but breaking protocol sure isn't going to help any. He sighs and beckons her over to him with his finger.

_JOSH Jojo._

_DONNA Good morning._

_JOSH Did you try the moose meat?_

_DONNA I didn't and I'll tell you why. I'm saving it for a special occasion._

_JOSH It's up to $180 on ebay._

_DONNA Ebay? Huh. Look..._

_JOSH I... I... I don't understand; I don't need to tell you that you can't sell..._

_DONNA I gave it to an intern._

_JOSH You did?_

_DONNA I'm sorry, I appreciated you giving it to me, but if I'm gonna eat moose meat there's gonna have to be some kind of a prize at the end of it._

_JOSH Who's the intern?_

_DONNA Well, how bout if I'd rather not say?_

_JOSH Donna._

_DONNA Come on, I'll take care of it._

_JOSH Fire the intern._

As he walks away, he realized that his tone might have been a little harsh. But here at the office, she's his subordinate. This doesn't make either of them look good. He'd been relieved when she'd said she gave the gift to an intern. He knew she'd never put it up on ebay. He didn't like that she didn't want to tell him who the intern was. Why'd she feel the need to protect someone from him? He wants this matter resolved so he gave her a curt, direct order, no room for misinterpretation. She's got to fire the intern. He just hopes she takes care of it without incident.

. . . . .

On his way back from the hill, he stops at the yogurt place she likes and gets her favorite. He doesn't want her to think he's mad at her.

Donna finishes up the transaction on ebay. It really sucks that she had to pay over $200 but at least it gets it off the internet. And Bruce can just give her the money back. She's pretty ticked off at him for getting them into this mess in the first place. But she's still going to try to save his job. She's been trying to take on more responsibility. To her that means being a good supervisor, even if the only reason she's the supervisor is that Josh hates dealing with the interns.

When Josh gets back from the hill, he stops in front of her desk. Donna looks up a little nervously. Hopefully he's not mad about the moose meat. She thought it was a joke, especially after he gave her the vase last night. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings by giving it away. And she certainly didn't mean to cause any trouble.

But Josh grins at her and holds up a bag from the yogurt place. "Come into the office, we need to go over these notes." She smiles at him in relief. She recognizes a peace offering when she sees it. They're probably going to still need to have another conversation about the intern, but it certainly doesn't need to be today. The guy doesn't even work on Tuesdays.

She follows Josh into his office and takes a seat across from his desk. He smiles at her and hands her the yogurt, then pulls out his notes. "Okay, so the leader wants to go on HMO Reform. I need data on the largest HMOS. You know the drill, average cost per year per consumer, average amount of company contribution, average amount of benefits paid. What else?"

"How about what the salaries are for the CEO and others?"

"Good idea, what else?"

"What about data on claims denied? Maybe broken down by region? Maybe even by procedure or something?"

"Yes. Great. Can you get going on that? I've gotta go see Leo."

He hops up to rush out the door, but as he walks by her he pauses long enough to run his hand down the side of her face.

"Sorry I snapped at you earlier." He gives her a small smiles, which she returns softly, then he's out the door.

. . . . .

"Hey," Josh half leans in through Leo's door. "Is now still a good time?"

"Yeah, Josh. Come in and close the door behind you." Leo responds, taking his glasses off and moving over to his sitting area.

"So," he starts as soon as Josh takes the chair opposite, "you're recommending Donna for a promotion."

"Yes. She's been handling more and more responsibility over the last couple years. She does way more than just answer my phones. She does research. She sometimes takes meetings for me. She has some really good strategy ideas. She's a leader among the other assistants and interns. She's book smart and she's got a lot of common sense too. And she's not nearly as intimidated by all of us anymore. I mean, look at last week. CJ wanted Donna to keep that email a secret but Donna knew it was too important to ignore. She didn't care that CJ's like 17 rungs above her."

"Well, I have to say, I agree. I think Donna could be handling a lot more. But what I'm worried about is you. Am I going to lose productivity from you if I move Donna out of your office?"

"Well, I've got a plan for that. See I'm thinking that she could be a deputy special assistant to the Chief of Staff, but it might be in the Chief of Staff's best interest to have her still work primarily with me."

" _Josh_. I can't just give her a new title and a raise. She _should_ be doing more substantive work."

"She will. I'll hire a new assistant. Someone to handle my phones, and schedule and typing. That'll give Donna more availability to help me, and you, with more important stuff."

"Okay. But you aren't going to have exclusive dibs on her. Can you live with that?"

"Yes. And speaking of living with that. I asked Donna to move in with me."

Leo looks up in surprise. He didn't know things had already gotten that serious between them. He runs his hand over his face and gets up and moves to his couch. Then stares at Josh until he gets up and moves over to one of the chairs.

"Say something, Leo. You're kinda freaking me out."

"Geez, Josh! Talk about bad timing. How's it going to look if I give her a promotion and raise right after she moves in with you!"

"That's why I didn't tell you until after you said okay to the promotion."

"No one's going to know that! I don't know about this now. You might have to choose between living together and Donna getting the promotion."

Josh is stunned. Would Leo really make him choose? He desperately wants her to move in with him but he doesn't want to hold her back in her career.

He sits in silence for a few moments. Then he realizes that _he_ can't decide.

"Well, then, Leo, it shouldn't be my choice. It should be hers. But come on, she's got the bona fides for the promotion. And it makes you her supervisor. Seems to me that once you promote her, it doesn't really matter where she lives."

"Well, good for you."

"What?"

"I'm glad to see that you recognize it would be her choice. I think you really are maturing. And you're wiling to train a whole new assistant to make sure Donna has the career advancements she deserves. I'm proud of you, son."

Josh beams at Leo and revels in the praise for a moment. But then Leo goes on.

"But I have to tell you . . . you guys seem to be moving pretty fast all of a sudden. You shouldn't be asking her to move in if this is just some sort of trial type thing. That girl has been hurt before, and so help me God, if you hurt her you'll answer to me."

Josh is a little taken back, at Leo's defense of Donna, hopefully he knows it's not necessary. But he's also a little pleased, Leo is an old family friend and Josh is glad that he likes Donna so much. But still Leo should be on his side. He decides to poke him a little.

"Okay, Leo, I think you've got to decide. Which role are you taking here, my father or hers? I don't think you can do both."

"Oh, so maybe you'd rather that I call in the President to take on the role of her father?"

"God, no. I'm sorry. Please continue."

"All I'm saying is . . . she's special, right?"

"Yeah."

"Don't ever forget that. . . . And have her come see me tomorrow afternoon. I'll make a final decision after I talk to her."

"Okay."

. . . . . .

When he gets back to the bullpen he stops behind her chair and puts his hands lightly on her shoulders.

"You ready to go?"

She looks up in surprise. This is the second day in a row they are leaving before 10. It's really kind of nice.

"Yeah, I just finished the HMO report. If Leo doesn't need it tonight, I can wait and proof-read it in the morning."

"Sure, that'll be fine."

She gathers her jacket and purse. Then he places a hand on her back and steers her out of the building toward his car. He opens the door for her and she slides into the passenger seat.

Once he starts the car and starts to pull out of the parking lot, she takes a big breath. "About the intern,"

"No." He cuts her off. "I don't want to talk about the intern. We can talk about it when we get back to the office tomorrow if you want. But until then this is our personal life, okay? I just want to be your boyfriend right now, not your boss."

"Okay."

He turns the car toward her apartment and her heart sinks a little. She figured she'd stay with him tonight.

He notices her shoulders slump. "I'm sorry. I should have asked if you wanted to go straight home. I figured it would be more convenient to swing by your apartment first and pick up a few days worth of clothes. That way you won't need to run back to your old apartment each morning."

She relaxes when she realizes that he's referring to his place as their home. "No, yeah, I mean. Good idea." She grins. "I'll grab some stuff now, then maybe this weekend we can figure out how and when to make this all official."

"As far as I'm concerned it's already official. But yeah, we should get the rest of your stuff and then you can sublease your apartment."

. . . . .

"Can you get my garment bag out of the hall closet?" She asks as soon as they walk in the front door. As he brings it into her bedroom, he looks around taking note of the pale yellow walls, the white lace curtains, and the floral bedspread.

Her bedroom, her old bedroom, he corrects himself, is pretty girly.

He's already contemplating what changes she might like to make to their apartment. He's imagining bantering with her over a new comforter and paint colors, but really he doesn't care. She can do anything she wants. He just wants to make a home with her. He's practically giddy.


	3. Wednesday

_WEDNESDAY_

Josh is in his office reading and making notes on a legal pad.

Donna takes a big breath and steadies herself. He said they could talk about this at work. But she knows he won't bring it up. It's on her. She wanted more responsibility but she really doesn't want to fire Bruce. She walks into Josh's office.

_DONNA Hello._

_JOSH Hello._

_DONNA It's wrong of you to make me fire the intern._

_JOSH I'll fire him._

_DONNA No._

_JOSH Why._

_DONNA First of all it was moose sausage not the prints to Los Alamos._

_JOSH And this is the White House not Williams-Sonoma._

_DONNA He's an intern, he makes nothing and he has to pay rent._

_JOSH He can't do it this way._

_DONNA And I'll make that clear to him but he shouldn't be fired. And you know why? 'Cause 20 years ago 75% of the people who graduated from the Kennedy School of Government took jobs in public service. Last year it was a third. We need these people._

_JOSH All right._

_DONNA When Martha... was it Martha?_

_JOSH Yes._

_DONNA When Martha came to you and thought it was me you wouldn't give her my name right?_

_JOSH Yes._

_DONNA So let me just..._

_JOSH I said all right like five minutes ago._

_DONNA I was just underlining my point._

_JOSH Nicely done._

_DONNA Okay, I'm through._

_JOSH Excellent._

He tries not to look up and watch her ass as she leaves the room. But he can't help himself. She's just so adorable when she's feisty. And seeing her hair twisted up like that, really turns him on as he remembers the reason she was running late this morning and didn't have time to fix it like normal. He played it cool while she was in his office, but now he can grin as he watches her go. She made some good points. He's looking forward to seeing how she handles it now that she's been given a little more latitude in how to deal with the still-unnamed intern.

Thirty minutes later, she's back in his office.

"I had him transferred out of the West Wing."

"Okay. Is it off ebay?"

"Yes."

"How do we know he's not going to just sell it under a different name?"

"He's not."

"How do you know?"

She blushes and looks away.

"Donna?"

"He's bringing it back tomorrow."

But Josh can sense there's more to the story. She has a terrible poker face. So he just waits. She usually ends up spilling the beans if he's patient.

"I bought it."

"You bought it?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How much?"

"$210."

"I'll write you a check."

"Not necessary, but we'll be eating moose meat for a while. I'm not going to be able to afford to chip in for groceries."

He grimaces at that pronouncement. He really doesn't need her to chip in for groceries, and he's pretty sure she's just kidding, but he doesn't want to take any chances on getting stuck eating moose. "I'll write you a check."

"Oh come on, we can make moose meat stew, it'll be an adventure."

"No thank you."

She decides to let him off the hook. "I'll give it to my brother for Christmas."

That gets her a sigh of relief and a big grin from him.

"That's a plan I can get behind."

She gives him a big grin in return and it's all he can do not to get up, close the door and have his way with her. But Leo's rules and threats are not far from his mind. He glances at his watch wondering how long until they can get home. But first, there's still some business to take care of.

"You have a meeting with Leo in 15 minutes."

She looks up in surprise. " _I_ have a meeting with Leo?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

His dimples pop out as he grins at her. "I think it's got something to do with a raise."

His grin gets even larger as he watches her eyes light up. "Really?" She pops out of her chair and moves towards him before she stops herself.

"Thank you." Her voice is low and a little husky. He's incredibly turned on and so happy to have pleased her, but there's something he needs her to know before the meeting.

"Leo will explain the details. But I need to tell you, you've been an extraordinary Assistant. You deserve this. It is totally merit based and has nothing to do with our dating."

Donna looks a little confused. That's an odd speech for a step promotion. She's about to ask him if there's something more to this meeting when he cuts her off.

"You'd better get going. You don't want to be late."

"Are you going to be here when I'm done?"

"Of course." He gives her a wistful look as she's walking out the door. He wants this for her, but he knows that things are about to change. He really hopes that Leo doesn't make her choose between him and the new job.

. . . .

When she gets to Leo's office, Margaret is on the phone so she waves Donna in. Darn. She was hoping to get a little more information from Margaret about what to expect from this meeting. She gets the distinct impression that Josh wasn't telling her everything.

She takes a deep breath a taps lightly on the door as she opens it.

"Hey Leo . . . Josh said you wanted to see me."

"Yeah. Come on in, Donna." Leo says looking up over his glasses and gesturing at the chair in front of him.

To Donna, it feels a little bit like getting called to the principal's office. She was hoping for a friendly hug and a seat over on the couch. She tries to remind herself that she hasn't done anything wrong. They told Leo about their dating right after it started. Of course, that had earned them both a little lecture too.

Donna thinks back to that meeting. When she arrived at Leo's office, it felt a lot like this, being nervous and uncertain about what he was going to say, but Leo had given his blessing. And a few rules: try to be discrete and definitely no public displays of affection on the White House grounds. And he told her that while he did NOT want to mediate any lover's quarrels, if she ever wanted a transfer out of Josh's office all she had to do was ask. Then he had given her a brief hug and led her into the oval office for another little Fatherly chat with the leader of the free world. The President had questioned her a little about whether she was sure she wanted to taken on Josh Lyman both professionally and personally, and then laughed when she had responded that, really, hadn't it always been that way from day one. Then he reminded her that the 82nd Airborne worked for him and that if Josh Lyman ever broke her heart he'd take care of it.

"Donna..." Leo says with a little smirk. "You with me here?"

"Sorry, Leo, I was just thinking about the last time we had one of these chats."

"Yeah. Well. That's good because that's part of what I want to talk to you about."

Donna sits up a little straighter if that's possible. She and Josh have been really careful. Other than that little banter when he got back from Helsinki, they've played it very cool in the office. And she's pretty sure that even if someone overheard that they'd just chalk it up to their normal word play.

"Josh and I have been talking about your performance and ability. And we both think it's time to promote you. So how would you like to be a Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff?"

"Work for you?"

"You're smart, responsible, you know Josh. Why wouldn't I hire you? The title's a little much, but it mostly means you'll do whatever I need to be done. A catch-all- but grownup, policy stuff."

"You're serious?"

"You'd still be mostly working with Josh. He can't miss you if you haven't really gone. And God, knows I can use all the help I can get to harness his brilliance for good rather than evil. But no more answering his phones, or doing his typing. What do you say?"

"Yes, Leo! I say YES!" Donna practically jumps out of her chair with excitement. And Leo stands up with a smile.

"Okay, come sit with me over here. We have a little more to talk about." Leo says as he comes around his desk and heads over to the sitting area.

The nervous feeling is back in the pit of her stomach. Why does it feel like the other shoe is about to drop?

" _Now, Donna_ ," the way Leo says her name suddenly sounds very paternal. "Josh told me that he asked you to move in with him and you said yes."

"Yes." Donna answers softly.

"Have you told your parents yet?"

"No."

He gives her a look. "Is that because you aren't sure if it'll work out?"

"No, I think it'll work out with Josh. . . . but the last time I lived with a man, it didn't. I don't think my parents are going to be very excited about me giving it another try. Even though they're liberals, they're still a little old fashioned. I think they'd prefer to have a wedding come first."

"Well, I gotta tell ya, Donna. I'm a father and I'm feeling a little old fashioned myself at the moment. But I've known Josh for most of his life, and there's no one more loyal. He might be a doofus sometimes, but he'll never hurt you on purpose. If you're sure that he's the one for you, I think it will all work out. But I gotta tell you, this is a huge step for him. He wouldn't do this if he wasn't planning on it being forever. You ready for that?"

"Yes, Leo. I am."

"Okay. But that brings us to another concern. I'm not really wild about the optics of giving you a promotion right after you move in with Josh. I'm thinking we might need to wait 6 months on one or the other. So which would you rather have it be? Do you want to wait on the move or wait on the promotion?"

Donna doesn't even hesitate in her answer. "I'll wait on the promotion, sir."

Leo gets a big grin. "Good girl."

Donna looks at him in confusion.

"Donna, were sitting on the couch right now. I'm in Dad mode. That was just me taking your temperature to see how much you wanted to live with the big kid. If I was over at the desk, I would have been in work mode and telling you not to put a man in front of your career. But in Dad mode, I'm glad you love him that much. It makes me feel a lot better about you moving in with him. I'm not making you choose. You've earned the promotion. And really as far as optics go, it looks better for you not to be a direct report to Josh with you living together."

"It was a test?" Donna asks slowly.

"Yes. And you passed. So did Josh, by the way."

"Which did he pick?"

"He didn't. He said it was your choice. He's a good man Donna. He wants what's best for you but he knows that means letting you make your own decisions." He smiles genuinely at her. He really does love these kids like they were his own. Sometimes he wants to bang their heads together, but he does love them.

"Alright. Get out of here. I'm sure Josh is anxiously waiting to see how this meeting went. Just remember the rules."

"Yes, sir."

Josh's door is closed when she gets back to his office, causing her to pause a moment.

She stands just outside the door biting her thumb. Even though she really wants to share her exciting news with her boyfriend, she knows that should probably wait until they get home. But she also has news to share with her mentor and former boss. She wonders if their relationship has already shifted. He really only closes his door when he needs alone time. Donna walks back to her desk and checks the phone to see if he's on a call.

When she discovers that he's not, she decides to knock lightly and let herself in. She's still his Assistant for now, and he didn't specifically tell her that he was not to be disturbed.

She opens the door quietly and observes him for a minute. He's sitting at his desk with his head tilted back agains the head rest and his eyes are closed. He looks tired. Maybe she should let him get a cat nap.

As she turns to go, his eyes open. "Hey." He says with a smile.

"So, I've got bad news." She says gravely and his heart sinks.

He's been trying to prepare himself for this the whole time she's been gone.

"You're going to need a new assistant!"

She chose the promotion over living with him. Now he has to try to find a way to sound convincing when he congratulates her and not to sound completely devastated when she backs out from moving in. He forces himself to smile and sound jovial.

"Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. I know you've outgrown this job, but I'm going to miss you. Really, I wouldn't be what I am without you."

"Thank you! But you're not getting rid of me that easily. Leo said I'd still mostly be working with you, but on the policy stuff, not secretarial. We're gonna have to hire someone else for that. And at least on days when I'm working with Leo or someone else, we'll still see each other at home!"

Her grin really couldn't be any bigger. He feels the darkness lifting off him as her words register.

"You're still moving in? Leo didn't make you choose?"

"He made me choose. But it was a test, Josh. He just wanted to see what we'd do. He told me that you said it was my decision! And I gotta tell you that once we get home, I'm going to show you exactly how that answer made me feel." She wiggles her eyebrows at him.

"Get your coat. Let's go." Josh responds instantaneously.

"Josh. It's only 6:30!"

"Grab some stuff, we can work from home later. After you tell me how you feel."

"Okay," she giggles as he throws stuff into his backpack. She scurries back to her desk. She gives her email a quick glance to see if there is anything that can't wait, then as she's shutting the computer down, she forwards Josh's line to her cell phone.

Once they are in the car, she tells him all about the meeting with Leo.

"So, you chose the promotion, right?" Josh asks. If he'd had to choose for her, that's what he'd have done.

"No. It was a no brainer. I chose moving in with you. I know it's not a very feminist thing to do, choosing your man over your career. But I figured I could wait another six months for the promotion. You already give me as much policy work as you can. I could have answered your phone for another six months if it meant getting to go home with you every night. I didn't want to see you less at work and less of you at home."

He's stunned. Once again, she's proven how much she loves him. He only hopes that someday he'll be able to show her that he feels the same way. He spent long enough denying his feelings, he wants to shout it from the roof tops.

Once they've parked in front of the townhouse, he leans over and gives her a long kiss. Then he gets out of the car, comes around, and opens the door for her. When he gets to the front stoop, he stops and takes her in his arms and whispers "Welcome home."


End file.
